Ultramarathon News for Thursday, May 3

How in the world did they leave Max King off this list?

If you’ve planned a hike, but then back out and spend the night at a luxury hotel, you’ll be billed for the S&R effort, though it sounds like an innocent mistake that can be blamed on technology.

Interesting interview/bio on MUT photographer Alexis Berg.

I listened to part of this podcast yesterday (yes, most I’ve ever listened to a podcast before) about media bias in the ultramararaton world. First, the 15 minutes I listened to were great. Good discussion, well produced, and they didn’t shy away from good topics. The two hosts are from the East Coast and attempt to figure out why their region is largely “ignored” by iRunFar, URP, etc. While Jason and Rich were both quick to point out it isn’t anyone’s “responsibility” to cover races and runners equally, there was a fair bit of discussion about why certain races are exalted while (maybe more difficult) races not on the west coast are ignored. Here’s the obvious answer: There are more prestige races out west because that’s where the greatest concentration of elite runners live. And there are more elite runners out west because the weather is better, trails are more accessible, and that’s where the races are. Chicken or the egg? I still don’t know.

As for URP’s coverage: I do my best to interview people from all over the country. While I probably tip the scales towards the west coast, it’s generally because I’ve met the guest before in some capacity and feel confident that they’d be a good interview. Booking and prepping for a guest who turns out to be a dud is not a lot of fun. [As always, if you’ve got a blog, report, guest, or idea about something not on the west coast, please shoot me a message!]

I’ve thought a lot about this issue before. Another issue and reason for the lack of coverage would be the lack of personal blogs and the centralization of the MUT media. While it used to be easy to find info on east coast events and runners, many of those sites and blogs are long-forgotten.

19 Responses to "Ultramarathon News for Thursday, May 3"

AJW says:

May 3, 2018 at 8:26 am

Great comments on the east/west thing. As someone who was born and raised in the east (1967-1996), lived in three distinct regions of the west (AZ 1996-2001, Bay Area 2001-2006, Idaho 2006-2011) and now resides in the east I agree with your sentiments. In the end, it’s all running and that’s what’s most important. That said, one observation worth making is that westerners seem willing and able to come east to compete (note recent results at GDR) while, in general, with the exception of the big marquee races, east coasters seem less inclined to travel west to race.

Reply
1. Rich Heffron says:
  
  May 3, 2018 at 12:25 pm
  
  Do they though, AJW? I’d say that the West Coast runners tend to place higher at top East Coast races and, as a result, their presence is more noticeable. I know plenty of top-level Midwest and East Coast ultrarunners who travel out west for big races but they tend to struggle because it is incredibly difficult to prepare for the elevation and climbing at most of the major West Coast races. Plus, there are a number of East Coast runners who relocate out west after having some success because they went to prepare properly for the high profile races.
  
  That said, Clifton and Morton—off the top of my head—were certainly getting it done at West Coast ultras and putting up top times that are still impressive while living on the East Coast. And, as we mentioned in the podcast, East Coast and Midwest women (Lapierre, Lickteig, Merritt, Kimball, etc.) have placed strongly at WS in recent years, so perhaps I (we?) should stop whingeing :).
  
  Reply
  1. DF says:
    
    May 3, 2018 at 1:27 pm
    
    I live in AJW’s neck of the woods and have only had one opportunity to race out West (SOB 100k) and aside from the mud, that is one runnable course. The climbing is killer, but the trails are super fast. Looking at the last 15 years’ results of Massanutten, Meltzer is the only West coast runner who has success. Sure, it probably doesn’t draw too many from out West, but it’s a great race (my first hundo). I’m running Tahoe in a few months and am pretty nervous about altitude, but gonna give it my best.
    
    Reply
  2. Eric says:
    
    May 4, 2018 at 8:20 am
    
    Or you could all join the Heff at Many On The Genny! #SeeYaAtTheDam
    
    Reply
Pete Kresock says:

May 3, 2018 at 9:19 am

Eric, Based on your comments, how exactly do you define “elite runner?” It appears that you’re referring to trail runners that have big-name sponsors and garner a lot of media attention based on their performances. By this definition, I agree that there’s a much higher concentration of elites on the west coast. But there’s also a ton of east coast runners that consistently throw down great performances at east coast races but receive little to no media attention, as discussed on the podcast. Is this because east coast winning times in trail races are often slower over the same distances? It’s true that the west has a greater number of long-standing ultras, dating back to the 1970s and 80s, which to some degree adds to the prestige.

One of my favorite things about our sport is that most of the media entities are independently owned and operated and not beholden to big business’ agendas. They can cover the sport in whatever manner they please, and in my opinion, that allows them to provide higher quality coverage. I agree that none of them have the “responsibility” to provide a more balanced coverage of geographical regions.

It’s also worth noting that the more popular media outlets — namely URP, IRF, Mountain Outpost, and Ultrarunning Magazine — are all based on the west coast. (Plus Trail Runner Magazine in Colorado.) I do appreciate the coverage of all these outlets, and enjoy following the sport on a national level. Jay and Rich mentioned that we might benefit from an east coast-centric version of IRF, and I think that would be a great way to bring media coverage to competitive races and runners that lack it.

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  May 3, 2018 at 9:39 am
  
  You make a great point. Elite runner to me is not necessarily someone who’s winning everything (though that’s usually the case), but rather a runner who I find interesting and intriguing to watch. For me (and my coverage), most of those runners are still out west. As AJW points out, it seems west coast runners are a lot more willing to venture east than vice versa, and that adds to my original point: I book a lot–certainly not all-of my guests off of personal interaction.
  
  In terms of comparing times, that makes zero impact on me. I barely know my own PRs, let alone those of the runners I cover. Sometimes an extraordinary performance stands out, but that’s it…extraordinary.
  
  Finally, there used to be a site based out of New England that covered MUT racing for the region and it was fantastic. I’ve been going through my old bookmarks looking for it, but I used it extensively while compiling the Daily News years ago. It’s coverage/news trickled out, then ultimately just stopped, but I remember it being an excellent source of info. I wish there were still something like that to help me get a better understanding of the important races and personalities. If you know what I’m talking about or start your own, please send me a link so I can reference it.
  
  Reply
  1. Crozorz says:
    
    May 3, 2018 at 10:37 am
    
    Hiya. Maybe you’re already familiar but if not https://massultra.com/ seems to be doing a good job covering races in the North East
    
    Reply
  2. Rob says:
    
    May 3, 2018 at 11:22 am
    
    +1 for MassUltra. Chris is fantastic. The folks at iRunFar occasionally pull from his articles for their weekly updates.
    
    Reply
    1. eric schranz says:
      
      May 3, 2018 at 11:28 am
      
      Looks like I need to start checking MassUltra more. Thanks.
      
      Reply
    2. Rich Heffron says:
      
      May 3, 2018 at 4:16 pm
      
      Thumbs up on MassUltra. We just need more “MassUltra-esque” sites to give the East Coast greater coverage.
      
      Reply
2. Eric says:
  
  May 4, 2018 at 8:22 am
  
  So pete, what we need is an east coast media outlet…… but how would it perform?
  
  Reply
Matt says:

May 3, 2018 at 10:46 am

I am not sure about the whole East Coast vs West MUT scene, races or runners, but on the gunksrunner website–Rich’s Desert Island picks listed Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout.
If I was stranded on a desert island, a milk stout (ewww, gross) is not something I would pick (ugh, not good for heat and humidity), I would definitely go for a nice hoppy-citrus IPA!!
What? Did you say beer?
Great, I will have two.

Reply
1. Rich Heffron says:
  
  May 3, 2018 at 12:16 pm
  
  Ha, Matt, good point. A milk stout, no matter how smooth, would not be enjoyable in a desert climate. In my defense ;), I did cheat and say that if it was an arctic island I’d go with Left Hand and if it was a desert island—as Jay clearly specified—I’d go with Dogfish Head 90 Minute. One thing that most East and West Coast ultrarunners can agree on is our love of beer. Cheers!
  
  Reply
Mike D says:

May 4, 2018 at 6:24 am

Traveling from one side of the country to the other is certainly pricey. I’d be curious to know whether the elite West Coast runners who have sponsorships are getting some of their travel covered when they come out East. (Thus, enabling them to do it more than those going the opposite way.) I’d say that is one of the primary factors why we do not see a lot of East Coast runners go out West. If you think about those we recognize with sponsorships, very few of those names seem to be East Coast folks.

Reply
Rick says:

May 4, 2018 at 7:02 am

Agreed – in the end it is all running and that’s what’s most important. Potential solution, though… Why not have the east coasters come a little west and the west coasters come a little east to meet in the middle? Say, the Midwest. We could have a reunion for the Dauwalters, Bitters, Olsons, etc 😉

More seriously, though, it was a bit surprising and disappointing to not see Brian Rusiecki make the top 10 list for ultra runner of the year.

Reply
Chad says:

May 4, 2018 at 8:14 am

Crow Pass looks freaking amazing! Very cool that some elites from the lower 48 are giving it a go.

Reply
1. Mike McK says:
  
  May 4, 2018 at 9:22 am
  
  2017 Mount Marathon winner and elite Nordic (2017 50k Skate US National Champion) Scott Patterson running. Will be fun to watch him mix it up with the Outside elites!
  
  Reply
  1. bryan says:
    
    May 4, 2018 at 4:57 pm
    
    This has the potential to be a really fast race! Scott Patterson and Allan Spangler have a lot of experience racing that course and are two of only four people to post sub 3 hour times. Could potentially see Geoff Roes’ record from 2010 go down!
    
    Reply
West Coast Bias? – MUT Stuff says:

May 9, 2018 at 11:57 am

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